A US judge has dismissed Apple's injunction claim against Motorola, although he's left them an option of appeal.

The final 38-page ruling reads:"Apple is complaining that Motorola's phones as a whole ripped off the iPhone as a whole (...) But Motorola's desire to sell products that compete with the iPhone is a separate harm - and a perfectly legal one - from any harm caused by patent infringement." The judge argued that Apple failed to prove that it lost market share, brand recognition or customer goodwill to Motorola.

Analysts aren't surprised at the outcome. Namely, the judge was inclined to dismiss the case and had cancelled a jury trial earlier.

Patent consultant Florian Mueller said he is sure that the case will be appealed to the Federal Circuit. He added that Apple "didn't do its homework in terms of expert reports and witnesses" to get something out of the case.

Seeing as how nobody is interested in backing down, we're likely to hear more news on this front.